A service record is a collection of either electronic or printed material which provides a documentary

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

of a person's activities and accomplishments while serving as a member of a given

organization An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived f ...

. Service records are most often associated with the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

, but are commonly found in other groups, such as large

corporations A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...

or for use by

employee Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any ot ...

s of a civilian

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...

Australian armed forces

Service records for the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (CA), who ...

, are available at the National Archives of Australia website. The service records of the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force are also available. World War I service records provide the dates when the person was "in the field", that is with his unit on active service, if and when they embarked for oversea service, and the names of the units in which the person served. The service record also documents other changes—promotions, transfers, time at base, the date and place of sickness or wounding, and the names of hospital or clearing station where the person was treated.

Canada

Canadian military service records are held by either the

Department of National Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is t ...

depending on the age of the file. The Library and Archives Canada is responsible for with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility for military service files. Library and Archives Canada holds publicly open military service records are available for personnel serving before 1914, personnel in the First World War, personnel who died in service in the Second World War, and records relating to medals, honours and awards. Library and Archives Canada holds restricted records for regular service members between 1919–1997, reserve members between 1919–2007, and Newfoundland Militia serving in the Second World War.

Pakistan

Pakistan Military The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consist of three formally uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are ...

maintains the service records in the official ''"Digest of Service"''.Maj Gen Mohammad Cheema, Col Mushtaq Madni and Major Aamir Mushtaq Cheema, 2008
History of Pakistan Army Aviation: 1947-2017
Historical Section of Army Aviation Directorate, General Headquarters (Pakistan Army)GHQ,

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan ...

, Pakistan, pp 262.

Nazi Germany

The records of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

are extensive and the record keeping ability of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

was generally considered to be extremely meticulous. Service records of Nazi organizations are maintained at the Berlin Document Center, in

Berlin, Germany Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, with several microfiche copies of these records available at the

National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...

College Park, Maryland College Park is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and is approximately four miles (6.4 km) from the northeast border of Washington, D.C. The population was 34,740 at the 2020 United States Census. It is best known ...

. Records of the ''

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

'', that is the regular armed forces of Germany during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, are maintained at the ''

Bundesarchiv , type = Archive , seal = , seal_size = , seal_caption = , seal_alt = , logo = Bundesarchiv-Logo.svg , logo_size = , logo_caption = , lo ...

'', also in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

United States armed forces

Service records of the

United States armed forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...

are considered vital documents both for historical reasons and also to help secure

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that h ...

benefits for discharged or retired service members. In addition, service records of the U.S. military provide a chronology of a service member's career and thus ensure accurate tracking of accomplishments, activities, and promotions. Military service records of active duty personnel are maintained by the various branches of the U.S. armed forces. Service records of retired and discharged personnel are maintained at the

Military Personnel Records Center The Military Personnel Records Center (NPRC-MPR) is a branch of the National Personnel Records Center and is the repository of over 56 million military personnel records and medical records pertaining to retired, discharged, and deceased veterans ...

in St. Louis, Missouri; after 2005, most U.S. military service records are retained by the military branch since most such records are electronically stored. Typical makeup of a United States military paper service record * DD Form 214 * Master personnel folder (

201 File :''See "service record" for other countries version of the personnel file'' A military personnel file (also called a 201 file in the United States Army) is a set of documents maintained by the US government for members of the United States armed for ...

, Service Record Book, AF Form 7, etc.) *

Officer Qualification Record (OQR) The Officer Qualification Record (OQR), NAVMC 123a, is one of the best sources of information concerning US Marine officers. It is similar to the enlisted Service Record Book (SRB) with only minor differences. This "record presents a cumulative ...

(if commissioned) * Evaluations and fitness reports * Awards and citations * Disciplinary data and

court martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

records * Dependent and emergency contact records * Clothing allowance and leave records * Letters and various correspondence *

Security clearance A security clearance is a status granted to individuals allowing them access to classified information (state or organizational secrets) or to restricted areas, after completion of a thorough background check. The term "security clearance" is ...

information * Reserve points and reserve service history (if applicable) * Discharge Data

References

Marine Corps Individual Records Administration Manual (IRAM)

Forces War Records
(UK) {{DEFAULTSORT:Service Record Documents Human resource management Public records